Monday, January 21, 2013

Review: NECA Robocop with Spring Loaded Holster

As you may have seen, there are some people around One Per
Case who think very highly of NECA toys. Well imagine my joy when I go to my
local Toys R Us and finally see the Robocop with Spring Loaded Holster, not
just the glow-in-the-dark Robocop that’s been hanging out for weeks. So now
that he’s home and on my shelf, how does he stack up? Read on to find out!

The packaging isn’t spectacular, but it’s good and it gets the job done. You get Robocop packed in a clamshell case, which of course means you get that delicious/noxious toy odor when you crack into it. The design is fairly basic, but looks like something straight out of Old Detroit.

Straight out of the package, the cop formerly known as Murphy is a fairly imposing figure, as he should be. The larger scale helps him to look a bit more menacing. Overall, the sculpting features a good bit of detail. The paint is extremely well applied, and the colors, while limited, are screen accurate. The overall detailing on the body is also well-done and give a good impression of the cyborg we all know and love.

The head features a lot of great detail, specifically with the inclusion of the serial number on the side of the helmet. Little details like this often get overlooked. My personal favorite is the nostrils peeking out from the bottom of the helmet. Again, another little detail that could have easily been overlooked.

Accessories. Two. Of course, he’s got his modified “service revolver” so he can rack up some points out at the shooting range. Not overly detailed, but it certainly looks like he could twirl it around before holstering it. The other accessory, the alternate hand featuring his data interface spike. Can I just say, great accessory! Whether your flipping someone off or stabbing someone in the neck, no robotic policeman is complete without his data interference spike.

Now for the spring-loaded holster action feature. It’s a cool inclusion, although a little under-whelming. I suppose in my mind, I was hoping for something a little more smooth rather than a pop-up feature, although at this scale, I’d imagine that would be pretty difficult to achieve. On the plus side, it works well and allows the leg to retain articulation. On the minus side, it’s a little tough to shove the gun in there properly. Overall though, another great detail to include.

So how does he move? Well, Robocop has a good number of
points of articulation. The head, torso and waist all move well. Personally, I
feel the arms and legs are pretty limited on movement. Yes, Robocop is a fairly
stiff superhero, but even for Robocop, the articulation is limited. For
example, the limited range on the elbows makes it tough to get that data spike
in a good “F You” pose. The leg articulation isn’t a huge deal, but I would
like to see a better range of motion in the elbows and shoulders.

Overall, this is a well-made figure. My main complaint is
the lack of movement in the arms, which I feel is a fairly big deal. Also, like
many others, I would have loved to see this guy with a removable helmet, or
perhaps an alternate helmetless head. Sure, I realize this would add some cost,
but let’s face it, this is clearly aimed at collectors. I think the majority of
toy collectors are fine with paying a few more dollars if it means the
difference between a figure you really like and a figure you love. Am I wrong? He’s
starting to show up in stores, and you can find him for pre-order online. Good
figure, but should you pick him up? Your move, creep.

Unfortunately now, his right leg snapped off when I tried to rotate it slightly. Since this was the last one on the pegs at TRU (at least the local-est TRU) I'm going to see if there's anything NECA can do. Unfortunately, most of my toy related customer service dealings have been with either Digital River or Hasbro Toy Shop, so my expectations are low. Plus side for NECA, it shouldn't take much to impress me.

Ah dude that sucks. I wonder if it was defective. I hope that's not a wide-spread problem with that figure. It's been a long, long time since I've had a NECA figure break on me. Good luck with the customer service experience. I haven't had to deal with them, so don't know what you should expect. If all else fails though, maybe hit them up on Twitter. Randy Falk runs their Twitter account and he's a pretty cool guy. Might be able to help you out.

I never did see this figure at retail, and kind of forgot about it until today when new photos of NECA's ED-209 figure hit the net. ED-209 looks so badass, it kicked me into gear and I threw this Robocop and the battle damaged version into my POL at BBTS.

Did you ever get a response from NECA about the broken leg, Brett?

Oh, and re-reading the review today, I said "dead or alive, you're coming with me" about 47 times.